Game of the Week to feature national power Slippery Rock

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (WKBN) – WKBN’s coverage of college football kicks off with Slippery Rock playing host to Gannon on this Saturday’s Game of the Week.

The Rock has won its last 9 meetings with Gannon to take a 12-6 lead over the Golden Knights.

College Football Game of the Week
Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 1 pm
Gannon (1-4) at Slippery Rock (5-0)

Last 5 Meetings
Oct. 14, 2023 – Slippery Rock, 49-24
Oct. 15, 2022 – Slippery Rock, 40-14
Oct. 30, 2021 – Slippery Rock, 63-21
Nov. 9, 2019 – Slippery Rock, 56-7
Nov. 3, 2018 – Slippery Rock, 48-7

Last Meeting
…The Rock, ranked No. 10 at the time, gained 446 yards of total offense in its 49-24 win over Gannon. The Golden Knights held a 14-0 lead early but Slippery Rock rebounded to outscore Gannon, 49-10, over the game’s final 50 minutes. Brayden Long threw for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns; 3 of those scores were to Kyle Sheets (7 catches, 134 yards).

2024 Team Statistics
Scoring Offense: Slippery Rock, 27.2; Gannon, 13.0
Scoring Defens e: Slippery Rock, 15.8; Gannon, 31.0
Total Offense : Slippery Rock, 361.0; Gannon, 256.4
Total Defens e: Slippery Rock, 245.0; Gannon, 409.4

Game Notes
-This past Saturday, the Golden Knights registered its first win of the season by topping Seton Hill – 23-17- in front of a season-high 2,713 fans at home.

-Gannon’s redshirt freshman quarterback Jayden Whitaker (Brownsburg, IN) has completed 54.9% of his 122 passes for 886 yards and 5 touchdowns. His favorite target has been Donell Mason (Indianapolis), who hauled in 23 passes for 355 yards.

-Junior defensive lineman Charles Calhoun (St. Edward) leads the team with 2 ½ quarterback sacks while posting 21 tackles (4 TFL). Hayden McDonald (Tigard, OR) leads the defensive unit with 39 tackles (14 solo).

-Gannon began the season by averaging 14-points per game in its first four outings before last week’s win over Seton Hill.

-In 2022, the Golden Knights finish the season with a 8-3 mark but fell to 5-6 last year.

-Slippery Rock escaped IUP with a 33-32 victory after a missed field goal by the Crimson Hawks as time expired resulted in The Rock’s 5th win of the year. With 12 seconds remaining in the contest, Mike Solomon (Huntingtown, MD) hauled in a Brayden Long (New Oxford) pass that went for 11-yards into the end zone to score the game’s winning touchdown.

-Long connected on a trio of touchdown tosses while gaining 205 yards through the air on 22 completions for The Rock against IUP. Kylon Wilson (Farrell) caught 6 passes for 92 yards as he also returned kickoffs for 68 yards as well.

-For the season, Idris Lawrence (Pickerington North) and Chris D’Or (Greenacres, FL) have run for 404 and 364 yards respectively.

-In nine seasons as The Rock’s head coach, Shawn Lutz has compiled an overall record of 75-19 that converts to a winning percentage of 79.8%. His teams have won each of the past five PSAC West championships (2018-19, 2021-23).

2024 PSAC West Division Standings
California (PA) – 2-0 (4-1)
Slippery Rock – 1-0 (5-0)
IUP -1-1 (4-1)
Gannon – 1-1 (1-4)
Seton Hill – 0-1 (2-3)
Clarion – 0-2 (2-4)
Edinboro – 0-0 (1-4)

Upcoming Schedule
Gannon
Oct. 26 – at Edinboro (1-4)
Nov. 2 – Indiana, PA (4-1)
Nov. 9 – at Clarion (2-4)

Slippery Rock
Oct. 19 – at California, PA (4-1)
Oct. 31 – at Clarion (2-4)
Nov. 9 – Seton Hill (2-3)

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